Mobile broadband wireless access system for transferring service information during handover

ABSTRACT

The present invention is related to transmitting quality of service (QoS) information of a target base station for admitted service flows during a handover operation. The invention comprises providing a service to a mobile station from a serving base station and receiving at the serving base station a handover request from the mobile station. The serving base station the provides a handover notification to a target base station, wherein the handover notification comprises a QoS parameter associated with the service. The serving base station then receives from the target base station a handover notification response, wherein the handover notification response comprises service level prediction information that is determined in response to the QoS parameter associated with the service. Finally, the serving base station provides a handover response to the mobile station, the handover response comprising the service level prediction information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No.P04-015128, filed on Mar. 5, 2004, the contents of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile broadband wireless accesssystem for transferring service information during a handover operation,and more particularly, to transmitting quality of service (QoS)information to a target base station for admitted service flows duringthe handover operation.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a handover operation can be performed in a broadband wirelessaccess system according to a request by a mobile subscriber station(MSS) or a base station (BS). In performing the handover operation froma current serving base station to one of a plurality of target basestations, the mobile subscriber station must provide quality of service(QoS) information for a service flow admitted in the current mobilesubscriber station to the respective target base stations.

The QoS information provided to the target base stations includes arequired bandwidth and a required service class name for the admittedservice of the current mobile subscriber station. However, the targetbase stations are unable to sufficiently guarantee the QoS of a specificservice with the QoS information only. In case a plurality of serviceflows are admitted in the mobile subscriber station, informationindicating which one of the plurality of admitted service flows will beguaranteed is not provided.

For example, it is assumed that a mobile subscriber station receivesboth a real-time moving picture download service and a fixed speedservice, such as a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), from a currentserving base station. While the mobile subscriber station is receivingthe services, if a situation needing handover occurs, the informationabout the required bandwidth and the service class name for one QoSguarantee is delivered to target base stations. However, specifichandover quality information for maintaining a quality of service foreach admitted service is not delivered to the target base stations.Hence, it is difficult to decide which one of the respective admittedservice flows will be guaranteed for its QoS. Moreover, it is difficultfor the target base station to predict the estimated QoS level for eachof the services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to transmitting quality of service(QoS) information to a target base station for admitted service flowsduring a handover operation.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theobjectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the presentinvention is embodied in a method of receiving quality of service (QoS)information in a mobile station associated with a handover operation ina wireless communication system, the method comprising receiving atleast one service from a serving base station, scanning at least onetarget base station to perform the handover operation, requesting ahandover request with the serving base station, and receiving a handoverresponse comprising service level prediction information from theserving base station, wherein the service level prediction informationis determined by the at least one target base station in response to aQoS parameter associated with the at least one service received from theserving base station.

Preferably, the QoS parameter comprises at least one of latencyinformation, reserved traffic rate, tolerable traffic rate and sustainedtraffic rate. The service level prediction information comprises atleast one of (1) no service flow available for the mobile station, (2)all service flow available, (3) some service flow available, and (4) noservice level prediction available. Moreover, the handover responsefurther comprises a recommended target base station to where the mobilestation should handover. Preferably, the mobile station determines theat least one target base station to handover to.

In one aspect of the present invention, the method further comprisesrequesting the at least one service from the serving base station, andreceiving a service approval message from the serving base station.Preferably, the service approval message comprises at least one of a QoSparameter value for the at least one service requested and an indicationas to the possibility of activating the at least one service requested.

In one embodiment of the invention, a method of providing quality ofservice (QoS) information associated with a handover operation in awireless communication system, comprises providing at least one serviceto a mobile station from a serving base station, receiving at theserving base station a handover request from the mobile station,providing a handover notification to at least one target base station,wherein the handover notification comprises a QoS parameter associatedwith the at least one service, receiving from the at least one targetbase station a handover notification response, wherein the handovernotification response comprises service level prediction informationthat is determined in response to the QoS parameter associated with theat least one service, and providing a handover response to the mobilestation, the handover response comprising the service level predictioninformation.

Preferably, the QoS parameter comprises at least one of latencyinformation, reserved traffic rate, tolerable traffic rate and sustainedtraffic rate. The service level prediction information comprises atleast one of (1) no service flow available for a mobile station, (2) allservice flow available, (3) some service flow available, and (4) noservice level prediction available. Moreover, the handover responsefurther comprises a recommended target base station to where the mobilestation should handover. Preferably, the mobile station determines theat least one target base station to handover to.

In one aspect of the present invention, the method further comprisesreceiving a service request for at least one service from the mobilestation, checking for the presence of radio resources available for theat least one service requested, allocating a radio resource to themobile station having requested the at least one service if radioresources are available, and transmitting a service approval message tothe mobile station.

Preferably, the service approval message comprises at least one of a QoSparameter value for the at least one service requested and an indicationas to the possibility of activating the at least one service requested.Furthermore, the serving base station transmits information regarding atleast one admitted service flow to the target base station allowing aQoS parameter value for the at least one admitted service flow to beperiodically provided to the target base station.

In another aspect of the present invention, the method further comprisesproviding a handover confirmation to the at least one target basestation, receiving at the serving base station a handover indicationfrom the mobile station, and discontinuing communication between theserving base station and the mobile station.

In another embodiment, the present invention is embodied in a mobilestation for receiving quality of service (QoS) information associatedwith a handover operation in a wireless communication system, the mobilestation comprising means for receiving at least one service from aserving base station, means for scanning at least one target basestation to perform the handover operation, and means for requesting ahandover request with the serving base station, wherein the means forreceiving the at least one service receives a handover responsecomprising service level prediction information from the serving basestation, wherein the service level prediction information is determinedby the at least one target base station in response to a QoS parameterassociated with the at least one service received from the serving basestation.

Preferably, the QoS parameter comprises at least one of latencyinformation, reserved traffic rate, tolerable traffic rate and sustainedtraffic rate. The service level prediction information comprises atleast one of (1) no service flow available for the mobile station, (2)all service flow available, (3) some service flow available, and (4) noservice level prediction available. Moreover, the handover responsefurther comprises a recommended target base station to where the mobilestation should handover. Preferably, the mobile station determines theat least one target base station to handover to.

In one aspect of the present invention, the means for requesting thehandover request requests the at least one service from the serving basestation, and the means for receiving the at least one service receives aservice approval message from the serving base station. Preferably, theservice approval message comprises at least one of a QoS parameter valuefor the at least one service requested and an indication as to thepossibility of activating the at least one service requested.

In one embodiment of the invention, a network for providing quality ofservice (QoS) information associated with a handover operation in awireless communication system, comprises means for providing at leastone service to a mobile station from a serving base station and meansfor receiving at the serving base station a handover request from themobile station, wherein the means for providing the at least one serviceprovides a handover notification to at least one target base station,wherein the handover notification comprises a QoS parameter associatedwith the at least one service, wherein the means for receiving thehandover request receives from the at least one target base station ahandover notification response, wherein the handover notificationresponse comprising service level prediction information that isdetermined in response to the QoS parameter associated with the at leastone service, wherein the means for providing at least one serviceprovides a handover response to the mobile station, the handoverresponse comprising the service level prediction information.

Preferably, the QoS parameter comprises at least one of latencyinformation, reserved traffic rate, tolerable traffic rate and sustainedtraffic rate. The service level prediction information comprises atleast one of (1) no service flow available for a mobile station, (2) allservice flow available, (3) some service flow available, and (4) noservice level prediction available. Moreover, the handover responsefurther comprises a recommended target base station to where the mobilestation should handover. Preferably, the mobile station determines theat least one target base station to handover to.

In one aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprisesmeans for receiving a service request for at least one service from themobile station, means for checking the presence of radio resourcesavailable for the at least one service requested and allocating a radioresource to the mobile station having requested the at least one serviceif radio resources are available, and means for transmitting a serviceapproval message to the mobile station.

Preferably, the service approval message comprises at least one of a QoSparameter value for the at least one service requested and an indicationas to the possibility of activating the at least one service requested.Furthermore, the serving base station transmits information regarding atleast one admitted service flow to the target base station allowing aQoS parameter value for the at least one admitted service flow to beperiodically provided to the target base station.

In another aspect of the present invention, the network furthercomprises means for providing a handover confirmation to the at leastone target base station, means for receiving at the serving base stationa handover indication from the mobile station, and means fordiscontinuing communication between the serving base station and themobile station.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for transferring quality of service information inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for transferring quality of service informationduring handover in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to transmitting quality of service (QoS)information to a target base station for admitted service flows duringhandover in a broadband wireless access system.

Referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment of the present invention, amobile subscriber station (MSS) 11 transmits a service request messageto a serving base station (BS #1) 12 to receive a specific applicationservice (step S101). The service request message comprises informationof a service flow to be activated and/or desired QoS parameters toreceive the service.

The serving base station 12 having received the service request messagechecks for the presence of radio resources available for the servicerequested by the mobile subscriber station 11 (step S102). If radioresources are available, the serving base station 12 allocates a radioresource to the mobile subscriber station 11 having requested theservice (step S103). Thereafter, information indicating whether theserving base station 12 is capable of performing the service flowrequested by the mobile subscriber station 11 is transmitted via aservice approval message to the mobile subscriber station 11 (stepS104). The service approval message includes QoS parameter values forthe service flow requested by the mobile subscriber station 11 and anindication as to the possibility of activating the requested serviceflow.

Once providing an application service to the mobile subscriber station11 (step S105), the serving base station 12 transmits informationregarding admitted service flows to target base stations (BS #2) 13(step S106). In doing so, the QoS parameter values for the service flowscan be periodically provided to the target base stations 13.

While the service flow is admitted in the above-explained manner, if themobile subscriber station 11 transmits a handover request message (forexample, MOB_MSSHO_REQ) (step S107), the serving base station 12transmits a handover pre-notification message (HO-pre-notification) tothe target base stations 13 (step S108). The handover pre-notificationmessage (HO-pre-notification) may include required information formaintaining the respective admitted service flows. Preferably, therequired information for maintaining the respective admitted serviceflow includes a service flow identifier (SFID), a service class name,QoS parameters corresponding to each service flow, and specific valuescorresponding to the QoS parameters, respectively. For example, the QoSparameters may be maximum latency, minimum reserved traffic rate,minimum tolerable traffic rate, maximum sustained traffic rate, etc.

Each of the target base stations 13 having received the handoverpre-notification message (HO-pre-notification) decides whether it iscapable of admitting a new mobile subscriber station 11. The decision isthen transmitted to the serving base station 12 via a handoverpre-notification response message (HO-pre-notification-response) (stepS109). The handover pre-notification response message(HO-pre-notification-response) may include information indicatingestimated service levels of the admitted service flows which can beprovided to the current mobile subscriber station 11 from the targetbase stations 13.

Subsequently, the serving base station 12 having received the handoverpre-notification response messages (HO-pre-notification-response) fromthe target stations 13, respectively transmits the information regardingthe service levels that can be provided by the target base stations 13to the mobile subscriber station 11 (step S110).

Referring to FIG. 2, in another embodiment of the present invention,there exists a plurality of target base stations from which a mobilesubscriber station (MSS) 21 can choose to perform a handover operationwith. Preferably, once the mobile subscriber station 21 is provided withan application service, as described in steps S101-S105 of FIG. 1, forexample, the mobile subscriber station 21 scans neighbor base stations22, 23, 24 (step S201). If the mobile subscribe station 21 decides toperform handover, the mobile subscriber station 21 transmits a handoverrequest message (MOB_MSSHO_REQ) to a serving base station 22 (BS #1)(step S202).

The serving base station 22 then transmits a handover requestpre-notification message (HO-pre-notification) to notify target basestations 23 and 24 (BS #2 and BS #3, respectively) that there exists themobile subscriber station 21 requesting the handover (steps S203 andS204).

For example, Table 1 and Table 2 show configurations for handoverrequest pre-notification messages (HO-pre-notification). TABLE 1 FieldSize Contents Global Header 152-bit  For (j=0; J<Num Records; j++{ MSSunique 48-bit 48-bit unique identifier used by MSS identifier (asprovided by the MSS or by the I-am-host-of message) Estimated Time to16-bit In milliseconds, relative to the time HO stamp. A value of 0indicates that the estimated time is known. N_NSIE Number of NetworkService Information Elements For (k=0; k<N_NSIE; k++) Field Size 16-bitSize of TLV encoded information field below TLV encoded Variable TLVinformation as allowed on a information DSA_REQ MAC message } } Securityfield TBD A means to authenticate this message CRC field 32-bit IEEECRC-32

TABLE 2 Field Size Contents Global Header 152-bit  For (j=0; J<NumRecords; j++{ MSS unique 48-bit 48-bit unique identifier used by MSSidentifier (as provided by the MSS or by the I- am-host-of messageEstimated Time 16-bit In milliseconds, relative to the time to HO stamp.A value of 0 indicates that the estimated time is known. Required BW 8-bit Bandwidth which is required by MSS (to guarantee minimum packetdata transmission) For (i=0; i<Num_SFID_(—) Records;i++){ SFID For (k=0;k<Num_QoS_(—) Records;k++){ Required QoS Field Size Variable QoSparameter definition encodings that in combination define an AdmittedQoS ParamterSet specific to the SFID } } } Security field TBD A means toauthenticate this message

In the present invention, parameters associated with a QoS correspondingto each admitted service flow and values corresponding to the parametersare transmitted using the handover request pre-notification message(HO-pre-notification) transmitted during handover from the serving basestation 22 to the target base stations 23 and 44. In other words, thehandover request pre-notification message (HO-pre-notification) includesthe QoS parameters and the values corresponding to the parameters.

Each of the target base stations 23 and 24 having received the handoverrequest pre-notification message (HO-pre-notification) transmits ahandover pre-notification response message(HO-pre-notification-response) to the serving base station 22 (stepsS205 and S206). Preferably, the handover pre-notification responsemessage (HO-pre-notification-response) includes QoS-associatedinformation.

The QoS-associated information transmitted via the handoverpre-notification response message (HO-pre-notification-response)preferably includes information regarding the presence of serviceestimation and information indicating estimated service levels of theadmitted service flows which can be provided to the current mobilesubscriber station 21 from each of the target base stations 23 and 24.

The QoS-associated information may be the same information as a servicelevel prediction information that the serving base station 22 transfersto the mobile subscriber station 21 via a handover response message.Preferably, it is possible to divide the information to indicate “allservice flows available,” “several service flows available,” “no serviceflows available,” and the like.

One exemplary configuration of the handover pre-notification responsemessage (HO-pre-notification-response) is shown in Table 3. TABLE 3Field Size Contents Global Header 152-  bit For (j=0; J<Num Records;j++{ MSS unique 48- 48-bit unique identifier used by MSS (as identifierbit provided by the MSS or by the I-am-host-of message Service levelExpected service level prediction 0 = No service possible for this MSS.1 = some service is available for one or several Service Flowsauthorized for the MSS. 2 = For each authorized Service Flow, a MACconnection can be established with QoS specified by the Authorized QoSparameter Set. 3 = No service level prediction available. } Securityfield TBD A means to authenticate this message CRC field 32- IEEE CRC-32bit

The serving base station 22 selects one base station appropriate for thehandover execution from the target base stations 23 and 24. The servingbase station 22 then transmits a handover confirmation message(HO-confirm) to the selected target base station. In this case, theselected base station is the target base station 24 (step S207). Theserving base station 22 recommends the target base station 24 as theselected base station to the mobile subscriber station 21 via a handoverresponse message (MOB_HO_RSP) (step S208).

One exemplary configuration of the handover response message(MOB_HO_RSP) is shown in Table 4. TABLE 4 Syntax Size Contents MOB_BSHO-RSP_Message_(—) Format ( ) Management Message 8 bit Type=53 Estimated HOtime 8 bit Target base stations shall be presented in an order such thatthe first presented is the one most recommended and the last presentedis the least recommended. N_Recommended can be derived from the knownlength of the message. For (j=0; j<N_Recommended; j++) Target BS-ID 48bit  Service level 8 bit Expected service level prediction 0 = Noservice possible for this MSS. 1 = some service is available for one orseveral Service Flows authorized for the MSS. 2 = For each authorizedService Flow, a MAC connection can be established with QoS specified bythe Authorized QoS parameter Set. 3 = No service level predictionavailable. } }

The mobile subscriber station 21 may follow the recommendation receivedfrom the serving base station 22 and decide to execute the handover tothe recommended target base station 24; however, the mobile subscriberstation 21 may also choose not to follow the recommendation of theserving base station 22 and decide to execute the handover to adifferent target base station or not execute the handover at all. Ifhandover is executed to the recommended target base station 24, themobile subscriber station 21 transmits a handover indication message(MOB_HO_Indication) to the serving base station 22 (step S209). Theserving base station 22 then recognizes the mobile subscriber station 21executing the handover to the target base station 24 and releases aconnection for the mobile subscriber station 21 (step S210). The mobilesubscriber station 21 then performs a ranging process with the targetbase station 24 to set a new serving base station to the target basestation 24 (step S211).

The embodiments of the present invention explain that the handover isexecuted according to a request made by the mobile subscriber station21. However, transmission of QoS information for the respective admittedservice flows is applicable to a case where the handover is executedupon a request made by a base station. Accordingly, the presentinvention can sustain the QoS for each of the admitted service flows inhandover.

Although the present invention is described in the context of mobilecommunication, the present invention may also be used in any wirelesscommunication systems using mobile devices, such as PDAs and laptopcomputers equipped with wireless communication capabilities. Moreover,the use of certain terms to describe the present invention should notlimit the scope of the present invention to certain type of wirelesscommunication system, such as UMTS. The present invention is alsoapplicable to other wireless communication systems using different airinterfaces and/or physical layers, for example, TDMA, CDMA, FDMA, WCDMA,etc.

The preferred embodiments may be implemented as a method, apparatus orarticle of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineeringtechniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combinationthereof. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein refers to codeor logic implemented in hardware logic (e.g., an integrated circuitchip, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.) or a computer readable medium (e.g.,magnetic storage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape,etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, optical disks, etc.), volatile andnon-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs,SRAMs, firmware, programmable logic, etc.).

Code in the computer readable medium is accessed and executed by aprocessor. The code in which preferred embodiments are implemented mayfurther be accessible through a transmission media or from a file serverover a network. In such cases, the article of manufacture in which thecode is implemented may comprise a transmission media, such as a networktransmission line, wireless transmission media, signals propagatingthrough space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc. Of course, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made tothis configuration without departing from the scope of the presentinvention, and that the article of manufacture may comprise anyinformation bearing medium known in the art.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus,it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A method of receiving quality of service (QoS) information in amobile station associated with a handover operation in a wirelesscommunication system, the method comprising: receiving at least oneservice from a serving base station; scanning at least one target basestation to perform the handover operation; requesting a handover requestwith the serving base station; and receiving a handover responsecomprising service level prediction information from the serving basestation, wherein the service level prediction information is determinedby the at least one target base station in response to a QoS parameterassociated with the at least one service received from the serving basestation.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the QoS parameter comprisesat least one of latency information, reserved traffic rate, tolerabletraffic rate and sustained traffic rate.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the service level prediction information comprises at least oneof (1) no service flow available for the mobile station, (2) all serviceflow available, (3) some service flow available, and (4) no servicelevel prediction available.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thehandover response further comprises a recommended target base station towhere the mobile station should handover.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the mobile station determines the at least one target basestation to handover to.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisingrequesting the at least one service from the serving base station. 7.The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving a service approvalmessage from the serving base station.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe service approval message comprises at least one of: a QoS parametervalue for the at least one service requested; and an indication as tothe possibility of activating the at least one service requested.
 9. Amethod of providing quality of service (QoS) information associated witha handover operation in a wireless communication system, the methodcomprising: providing at least one service to a mobile station from aserving base station; receiving at the serving base station a handoverrequest from the mobile station; providing a handover notification to atleast one target base station, wherein the handover notificationcomprises a QoS parameter associated with the at least one service;receiving from the at least one target base station a handovernotification response, wherein the handover notification responsecomprises service level prediction information that is determined inresponse to the QoS parameter associated with the at least one service;and providing a handover response to the mobile station, the handoverresponse comprising the service level prediction information.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the QoS parameter comprises at least one oflatency information, reserved traffic rate, tolerable traffic rate andsustained traffic rate.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the servicelevel prediction information comprises at least one of (1) no serviceflow available for a mobile station, (2) all service flow available, (3)some service flow available, and (4) no service level predictionavailable.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the handover responsefurther comprises a recommended target base station to where the mobilestation should handover.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the mobilestation determines the at least one target base station to handover to.14. The method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving a servicerequest for at least one service from the mobile station; checking forthe presence of radio resources available for the at least one servicerequested; allocating a radio resource to the mobile station havingrequested the at least one service if radio resources are available; andtransmitting a service approval message to the mobile station.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the service approval message comprises atleast one of: a QoS parameter value for the at least one servicerequested; and an indication as to the possibility of activating the atleast one service requested.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein theserving base station transmits information regarding at least oneadmitted service flow to the at least one target base station allowing aQoS parameter value for the at least one admitted service flow to beperiodically provided to the at least one target base station.
 17. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising: providing a handover confirmationto the at least one target base station; receiving at the serving basestation a handover indication from the mobile station; and discontinuingcommunication between the serving base station and the mobile station.18. A mobile station for receiving quality of service (QoS) informationassociated with a handover operation in a wireless communication system,the mobile station comprising: means for receiving at least one servicefrom a serving base station; means for scanning at least one target basestation to perform the handover operation; and means for requesting ahandover request with the serving base station; wherein the means forreceiving the at least one service receives a handover response, thehandover response comprising service level prediction information fromthe serving base station, wherein the service level predictioninformation is determined by the at least one target base station inresponse to a QoS parameter associated with the at least one servicereceived from the serving base station.
 19. The mobile station of claim18, wherein the QoS parameter comprises at least one of latencyinformation, reserved traffic rate, tolerable traffic rate and sustainedtraffic rate.
 20. The mobile station of claim 18, wherein the servicelevel prediction information comprises at least one of (1) no serviceflow available for the mobile station, (2) all service flow available,(3) some service flow available, and (4) no service level predictionavailable.
 21. The mobile station of claim 18, wherein the handoverresponse further comprises a recommended target base station to wherethe mobile station should handover.
 22. The mobile station of claim 18,wherein the mobile station determines the at least one target basestation to handover to.
 23. The mobile station of claim 18, wherein themeans for requesting the handover request requests the at least oneservice from the serving base station.
 24. The mobile station of claim23, wherein the means for receiving the at least one service receives aservice approval message from the serving base station.
 25. The mobilestation of claim 24, wherein the service approval message comprises atleast one of: a QoS parameter value for the at least one servicerequested; and an indication as to the possibility of activating the atleast one service requested.
 26. A network for providing quality ofservice (QoS) information associated with a handover operation in awireless communication system, the network comprising: means forproviding at least one service to a mobile station from a serving basestation; and means for receiving at the serving base station a handoverrequest from the mobile station; wherein the means for providing the atleast one service provides a handover notification to at least onetarget base station, wherein the handover notification comprises a QoSparameter associated with the at least one service; wherein the meansfor receiving the handover request receives from the at least one targetbase station a handover notification response, the handover notificationresponse comprising service level prediction information that isdetermined in response to the QoS parameter associated with the at leastone service; wherein the means for providing the at least one serviceprovides a handover response to the mobile station, the handoverresponse comprising the service level prediction information.
 27. Thenetwork of claim 26, wherein the QoS parameter comprises at least one oflatency information, reserved traffic rate, tolerable traffic rate andsustained traffic rate.
 28. The network of claim 26, wherein the servicelevel prediction information comprises at least one of (1) no serviceflow available for a mobile station, (2) all service flow available, (3)some service flow available, and (4) no service level predictionavailable.
 29. The network of claim 26, wherein the handover responsefurther comprises a recommended target base station to where the mobilestation should handover.
 30. The network of claim 26, wherein the mobilestation determines the at least one target base station to handover to.31. The network of claim 26, further comprising: means for receiving aservice request for at least one service from the mobile station; meansfor checking the presence of radio resources available for the at leastone service requested and allocating a radio resource to the mobilestation having requested the at least one service if radio resources areavailable; and means for transmitting a service approval message to themobile station.
 32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the serviceapproval message comprises at least one of: a QoS parameter value forthe at least one service requested; and an indication as to thepossibility of activating the at least one service requested.
 33. Theapparatus of claim 26, wherein the serving base station transmitsinformation regarding at least one admitted service flow to the at leastone target base station allowing a QoS parameter value for the at leastone admitted service flow to be periodically provided to the at leastone target base station.
 34. The apparatus of claim 26, furthercomprising: means for providing a handover confirmation to the at leastone target base station; means for receiving at the serving base stationa handover indication from the mobile station; and means fordiscontinuing communication between the serving base station and themobile station.